The present invention relates to farm implements; and more particularly, it relates to a plow system wherein a plurality of individual plowing units are mounted to a common frame adapted to be pulled by a traction vehicle for plowing a plurality of furrows simultaneously.
Plow systems are known which include a plurality of plow units mounted to a common or main frame which is adapted to be pulled behind a traction vehicle. For the most part, such systems have the plow units rigidly mounted at predetermined intervals along a main beam which is inclined relative to the direction of travel of the vehicle. Thus, the plow units are mounted at different lateral spacings and at different differences behind the vehicle so that a trailing plow unit will turn plowed earth into a furrow formed by a preceding plow unit. These systems have had the capability of adjusting the spacing between furrows formed by the plurality of plow units. Heretofore, however, adjusting the spacing of plow units has been a tedious, time-consuming task and intended to be employed only when the attachment is, for example, pulled by a different vehicle or used under circumstances other than those under which it is normally employed. Adjustment was made by changing at least some of the bolt holes of each plow unit in securing it to the frame, thus, prior plow systems which have a number of individual plow units have not been designed to facilitate adjustment of the spacing of the plow units.
I have realized that in the normal operating conditions under which a farmer uses a system or attachment of this type, there are considerable advantages to be gained in a system wherein the plow units may be easily adjusted by an operator without even leaving the tractor, and, further, by permitting a continuous variation of the spacing of the plow units over a fairly wide range. That is to say, even those prior plow systems which permitted adjustment of the spacing between adjacent plow units permitted only discrete spacing intervals, such as 14 inches or 16 inches or 18 inches. My improved plow unit, on the other hand, permits adjustment over a continuous range of plow unit spacing from, say, 14 inches out to 20 inches, while, at the same time, permitting the adjustment to be made by an operator very quickly and easily without leaving his seat on the tractor.
Some of the factors which have an influence on the desired width of a cut between adjacent plow units (the word "adjacent" does not apply side-by-side spacing, of course, because one of the units trails the other) are the type of soil being worked, the type of crop being worked under, the size of the tractor, the degree of dampness of the ground being worked, the inclination and slope direction of a hill or mound, etc. The depth of the furrows being made may also have an influence on the desired width of a cut, although to a lesser degree than the other factors. For example, if a clay soil is being worked, the spacing between adjacent plow units may be desired to be 14 inches. If corn is the crop being worked under, and a normal loam is present, the spacing between adjacent plow units may be 14 or 16 inches or even wider if the tractor has a larger horsepower. A damp ground will require closer spacing of adjacent plow units than a dry ground because the pulling vehicle does not have as great a traction on damp ground, and so on.
Typically, a plow system of the type with which the present invention is concerned may have as many as five separate plow units mounted to it. Hence, if the pulling vehicle has a small or medium size motor, the spacing between adjacent plow units may range between 14 and 16 inches, thereby providing a total swath of up to 80 inches. If the operator changes to a tractor of higher horsepower (and it will be realized that these units normally last longer than a typical tractor), the operator can save hours of work by adjusting the width between adjacent plow units to as high as 20 inches, whereby the total swath for a single pass is 100 inches--an increase of 20 percent. This, of course, is accomplished, under the present invention without having to purchase a new plow system.
According to my invention, a plurality of plow units are each mounted to a main frame of a plow system for rotation about a vertical axis. The units are mounted to a main beam which is inclined relative to the direction of travel of the vehicle, and the units are spaced at equal lateral increments along the inclined main beam so that when the system is attached to a traction vehicle, the plow units are located at uniformly increased distances from a pivot connection between the main frame and the traction vehicle.
The plow units are ganged together by means of a guide beam which preferably is located parallel to the inclined main beam of the frame and pivotally attached to flanges on the plow beam of each plow unit. A plow share and moldboard are attached to the plow beam behind the inclined main beam, and a rolling coulter is attached to the plow beam ahead of the inclined main beam. A hydraulic ram interconnects the guide beam with the main frame for translation of the guide beam relative to the main inclined beam, and hence, for rotating the individual plow units together relative to the inclined main beam. As the plow units are rotated, the moldboards and plow shares "open" or "close" --that is to say, the direction of cutting (i.e., the cut line) of the plow units changes. Thus, when the units are then used to plow, the reaction force straightens the units out relative to the direction of travel of the vehicle and causes the entire main frame to rotate about the pivotal connection to the traction vehicle. That is, the individual plow units being turned in unison, will adjust so as to "face" or become aligned with the direction of travel of the pulling vehicle.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the operator of the traction vehicle may maintain the spacing with previous furrows by keeping the right rear wheel (when viewed from the rear) in a previous furrow. Thus, if the lateral spacing of adjacent plow units is 16 inches, the leading or right-hand plow unit (again, when viewed from the rear) will be located 16 inches from a previously-formed furrow. Similarly, if the operator changes the spacing between plow units to 18 inches, then the right-hand plow unit will shift laterally to the left 2 inches relative to its previous position so that by maintaining the right rear wheel in the previously-formed furrow, the spacing between that furrow and the leading plow unit will be adjusted 18 inches.
A tail section is mounted to the tail end of the inclined main beam, and it is provided with a wheel support which rides in the last formed furrow. A second hydraulic ram is included in the tail section for lifting the rear end of the inclined main beam relative to the trailing wheel, thereby to permit raising of the plow units above the ground when traveling over roads or ground that is not desired to be plowed or for adjusting plowing depth.
A steering system is also included to steer the rear wheel in a reverse direction relative to the direction of turning of the tractor to bring the plow system or attachment around directly behind the traction vehicle during turns.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment accompanied by the attached drawing wherein identical reference numerals will refer to like parts in the various views.